Double Identity Book Review

For thirteen years, Bethany’s parents have kept a devastating, life-changing secret about their family’s past. Now it’s time for Bethany to discover the truth. Check out Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix

For thirteen years, Bethany’s parents have kept a devastating, life-changing secret about their family’s past. Now it’s time for Bethany to discover the truth. Check out Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Unanswered Questions

Just before her thirteenth birthday, Bethany’s parents drive to Sanderfield, Illinois and drop her off at her aunt Myrlie’s house—an aunt she’s never met. Without explaining, her parents drive away, leaving Bethany with many unanswered questions. Where are they going? Why can’t she go with them? And most of all, why is her mother always crying these days?

A Life-Changing Phone Call

Aunt Myrlie is a kind woman, but she’s also a stranger. And Bethany can’t help but pray for her parents to come back. When her father calls, he hides information from her, leaving Bethany more confused and frustrated than ever. But when her mother phones a few nights later, she sounds delusional, thinking Bethany’s name is Elizabeth. Who’s Elizabeth? That’s when the secrets of her family’s devastating past begin to unravel.

Devastating Family Secrets

Bethany learns that her parents once had another child named Elizabeth. She was tall and blonde, just like Bethany, and she was an amazing gymnast. But just before her thirteenth birthday, Elizabeth and Myrlie’s husband died in a tragic car accident. Suddenly Bethany understands why her parents have always been so overprotective, not letting her go to sleepovers or stay home alone. They’ve already lost one daughter, and they refuse to lose another.

Sisters or Twins?

As Bethany watches old home videos of her deceased sister, more questions tug at her. Why do she and Elizabeth look so alike? Why do they both love Fruit Loops and peaches-and-cream oatmeal? Why do they both have a fascination for big words, like “vainglorious” or “raconteur”? They were like twins, born more than thirteen years apart. But that’s not possible…is it?

The Bottom Line

Double Identity is a thrilling, climactic drama. The story explores fears, trust and life-changing family secrets. If you’re looking for a young adult book filled with deep, emotional issues, then Double Identity is the perfect story for you.

A man danced down the alleyway, his eyes turned up to the heavens as he tripped blindly over the world that lay before his own two feet. He laughed and laughed as he danced, for the stars and the moon were the only friends he needed in his life: they were his family and friends, for he had none of his own.
But as he danced and laughed, a woman came and grabbed him, forcing him to look once more at the world which he had abandoned long before and to look at her. So the man found a new friend, a new love, and he danced and laughed with the woman in his arms.
But the sky did not forget his leaving it, and soon it took the woman away from him.
The man was too afraid to turn his gaze to anything else, and so walked the world blind to all love for the rest of his days.